Back in December, SIN reported on the rapidly changing values in the GAA, and whether professionalism has gone too far in our national games. A concerning decision taken by Connacht GAA ahead of this weekend’s Connacht football semi-final between Mayo and Roscommon backs up this sentiment, as children will now be charged an alarming €35 for entry to the seated stand in McHale Park, instead of €5, an increase of 700% overnight.
CEO of Connacht GAA, John Prenty, has defended the decision. During an interview on The Tommy Marren Show on Midwest Radio, Mr Prenty cited the ticket prices as an “economic decision” given that they have been operating at a loss for the last two years.
Without even accounting for the destruction of the famous Connacht GAA air dome in Storm Eowyn in January 2025, Connacht GAA reports losses of €250k in their audited, public accounts.
The CEO also flagged the temporary discontinuation of the FBD-sponsored Connacht Football and Hurling Leagues for 2025, which had been one of Connacht GAA’s main sources of funding.
Even though the pre-season competitions returned for the 2026 season, the financial damage had already been inflicted. The reinstatement of the FBD leagues in 2026 represents a key dilemma when it comes to balancing player welfare with ensuring financial viability.
The Gaelic Players Association released a statement before it was confirmed that the pre-season competitions would be reintroduced to the inter-county schedule. They expressed “serious concern” surrounding the potential return of the competitions, adding that it would involve players returning to training in November rather than December, a prospect that 78% of players had voted against as part of the “No Contact November” policy.
The GPA had a clear stance on the situation, with a focus on players, but it is clear that money was a driver in the reinstatement of competitions, with our amateur athletes merely an afterthought.
Aoibheann NicGhiolla Bhuí believes that the GAA needs to do far more to promote and foster the mental health of players. Speaking to Kevin O’Brien on the Humans of Gaelic podcast, NicGhiolla Bhuí highlighted the insane commitments of GAA athletes juggling their high-level amateur game with employment and education.
“These athletes are playing at such a high level and committing such a high amount of time to the sport, yet they’re expected to, you know, maintain a full-time job, maintain college work, maintain all other aspects of the game, yet stay committed.”
The dropout rate in GAA for 16–24-year-olds is around 52%, compared to approximately 23% in soccer, with male inter-county athletes three times more likely to fail a college year than their peers. Despite the rise in ticket prices, the supporters will surely pack into McHale Park regardless, for Mayo vs Roscommon next Sunday.
Roscommon come into the tie on the back foot, with captain Brian Stack and forward Daire Cregg out through injury and suspension, respectively. Mayo will therefore be targeting a statement win in front of their partisan crowd to bring them through to a Connacht final, no doubt hoping for a big performance from their Crossmolina starlet Kobe McDonald.
That is, before he jets off for Australia to sign for the AFL. A league which, unlike any in the GAA, gives professional-standard players professional, paid contracts.
Coupled with the Connacht price-gouging, it beggars the question as to what really is the priority with the GAA’s money, and has it tilted too far towards profits and away from the wellbeing of players and fans that define the sport we love?
Sonny McGreevy is SIN’s co-Sports Editor for 2025/2026. He is a third-year student of Creative Writing and a keen but mediocre golfer. It is his second-year writing for SIN. When he’s not slicing a golf ball into the nearest pond or peering over a fence at a local GAA pitch, he’s debating Irish foreign policy or ardently discussing the price of turf with a pint in hand in a sleepy pub in his native Roscommon.